The tale's exact contents are long forgotten, as it was buried long ago -about two centuries ago to be exact- but stories tell of an Amazonian chief, a woman of remarkable wisdom and charisma, who shared an almost extraordinary bond with the stars. That bond was so powerful that one day, the stars bestowed upon her two twin daughters, each blessed with their own unique mark of the stars -constellations as some would call them.
Naturally, the people of Amazonia revered these children as Saints, believing them to be divine blessings sent by the stars to guide and protect their land. Their celebrations echoed through the mountains, I'm talking vibrant festivals filled with music, dance, and laughter, drawing in even animals to join in the festivities, as if the very spirit of Gaia rejoiced in their presence.
However, as time passed, Amazonia's jubilant atmosphere began to wane, and a dilemma began to arise. With the chief having given birth to two twin daughters, who would ascend as the next chief? After much thought, the villagers chose the firstborn, the daughter who had entered the world mere moments before her sister.
And yet, even then they were still uncertain. What if the second daughter one day chose to oppose her sister? As she was a saint, the villagers questioned whether anyone could stand against her, and while her sister might possess the strength to do so, the full extent of her constellation remained a mystery. And thus, in a desperate act of saving their tradition, and possibly even their village, they casted the younger sister into the depths of the outskirts (the jungle), erasing her from all village documents. For them, she was now dead...
Yet, unbeknownst to them, the forsaken child not only survived the wilderness of the harsh jungle, but also befriended the many creatures dwelling within it. With her divine power, she was able to speak their language, understand their ways, and even learn of her heritage through to the help of those very animals. And even after hearing of her dark past, rather than harboring resentment or any form of hatred towards those who had cast her aside, she felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the simple act of allowing her to live instead of killing her themselves.
For that was the ultimate act of kindness.
***
Palola hurried down a somewhat impressive flight of stairs, barely able to see the bottom, and stepped into a shadowy chamber, illuminated only by a single dim light hanging from the ceiling. On both sides of her, eight cells lined the walls, nearly all occupied by men whose minds seemed shattered, their bodies sprawled on the cold, unforgiving floor.
Until meeting Shibo, she had never encountered a man before, as their presence was strictly forbidden in her village and any who still intruded would face execution without hesitation. Now, she stood in disbelief, surrounded by the grim reality before her. Some of the men erupted into fits of laughter, while others contorted in unnatural positions, resembling discarded playthings. It was evident they had been subjected to some form of poison or similar torment. What purpose did they serve? The sight of tubes attached to their private areas hinted at a cruel fate, and the stench that filled the air was almost unbearable.
(Men…? And so many of them too… But how? Why? Why would men be locked up in here? I thought the dungeon was for thieves and criminals... And yet, I haven’t spotted a single girl down here.)
These questions swirled in her mind, a whirlwind of confusion as she walked past each cell, grappling with the unsettling scene around her.
Alas, her attention was grabbed by the humming of a man, a man dressed in a long dark cloak and drawing the sketch of a large mouth in the air with his starlites. He was facing a cell, the one that stored Tenshi and Akuma, though Palola would have no way of knowing that.
“You there! Who the heck are you?”
Her sudden shout caused his finger to twitch, shattering the sketch as he’d messed up the image.
“Oh dear. Now I’ll have to restart… Maybe I should just leave this to someone else.”
“Hey! Don’t just ignore me, I asked you a question!”
The cloaked man turned his gaze and was a bit taken back by Palola’s small form.
“That was quite rude of me. So sorry about that. Is there something you needed?”
“Yeah. I wanna know who you are and what your business is here. You see I’m looking for a friend of my friend and I have a sneaking suspicion you’re looking for the same guy. Well?”
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The cloaked man fully turned his body, his attention grabbed. Again, he flailed out his arms while proudly announcing, “I am a member of the Cult of Salomon! Our God has tasked me with the mission of eliminating the AntiGod before he destroys this world again! Tell me… Are you a fellow believer in our God?”
“Believer…? Sorry man, but I’m not heavy on that religion stuff. And seeing as you murdered two guards, I can’t imagine your God is all that righteous.”
“Y-You dare speak ill of my lord…” He muttered, visibly irritated. “…Oh no, oh no. This is bad, bad, bad. What to do, what to do?! Should I kill her? No, that would be against the law. Dammit, dammit, dammit. The AntiGod is right there sleeping too. This would be the best chance to save the world…”
He started to aggressively chip away at the remnants of his already damaged cuticle, his fingers digging deeper until he had stripped the skin back to the midpoint of his finger, and even down to his wrist.
“…I want to kill you, I desire to kill you, I need to kill you…”
A wild thrill that can only be described as pure ecstasy coursed through him as he raised the flayed skin high, showcasing both his bloodied hand and the raw, exposed flesh beneath.
“…I LUST FOR YOUR DEATH!!”
image [https://i.imgur.com/JZ7CO81.jpeg]
(T-This guy is insane!) Palola thought, fear intertwined with confusion consuming her.
“Hey… do you mind if I go back to saving the world?”
“I told you, you moron. Those people in that cell are important friends to my friend. You’re way too shady to let you do anything to them. In the first place why do you want to eliminate him so badly? I can’t imagine a friend of Shibo’s being a bad person.”
“Oh, quite the contrary. He is the man who saved the world, brought about a new age where children regained their smiles and dreams, and ultimately created his own kingdom where he restored equality and peace.”
“I-I don’t understand. What part of that makes him evil? If you ask me those are all good things.”
“Yes… They are…”
A tear fell down the cloaked man’s eye as those words left his lips.
“…There was a time I wanted nothing more than to follow him. But then, he destroyed the very world he brought about. He’d succeeded in saving the world and its people... And yet, he threw it all away like garbage… Such an evil man.”
“Look, I don’t really understand the beef you have with that guy, but like I said, I can’t allow you to touch him.”
“I see… So, you ally yourself with the devil’s spawn, do you… Very well.” The cloaked man turned his gaze back to Palola and began to rant, “Hey… Did you know that originally people weren’t allowed to murder? Actually, any damage done by others was against the rules of Yggdrasil. There were lots of rules like that. And anyone who broke those rules would be punished by the librarian. The only reason people get away with it now, is because of Michael changing the laws of the world… And it is for that reason why residents of the other timeline may not harm anyone from this one. Of course, I’d never harm anyone anyways as it’d go against the laws of my God-”
“Like hell you wouldn’t! You just killed two guys not even ten minutes ago!”
“Do not misunderstand. I merely acted in self-defense. Our God states that we may protect ourselves, and so I did just that. After all, my life was in danger, and so I needed to protect myself. Yes, that is all it was, self-defense… With that being said… I want you to attack me.”
(Attack him…? He said the same thing right before he killed those guards… Should I risk it? No, that’d be what he wants. If what he says about self-defense is true, then my best bet is actually to not attack him…)
“I won’t.”
“Huh?”
“I won’t attack you. So just leave.”
The cloaked man paused for a moment.
“So, you won’t attack me… Oh no, no, no. For you to harbor such animosity towards me, and yet not want to attack me. You are without a doubt a wonderful pers-! Wait! I just had an even better idea… Yes. Yes! Yes!!”
He once again flailed his arms out.
“For such knowledge to be bestowed upon me! Surely… this has to be God’s will! For he is all knowing. Yes, that has to be it! He’s bestowed upon me a fragment of his wisdom, which means he’s saying it’s alright to harm the girl in front of me! Thank you, O lord. Thank you… Apollo!”
By now Palola was thinking of her next plans. She still wasn’t sure how he managed to kill those two guards, so she had to be ready for an unseen attack that could potentially kill her in a single hit.
“Did you know that if someone from another timeline harms a resident from this one, that pesky Guardian of Time would intervene? He’s alerted by a combination of intention and will. That’s why our lord Apollo informed us to only act on self-defense. He doesn’t seem to be alerted from that, since we lack the intention or will to kill. I say that to say that it’s impossible for me to attack you without alerting him… But…”
The cloaked man began to take a single step forward, his leg seemingly moving at a dramatically sluggish speed.
“…Right now, I have no intention of harming you. I am simply… taking a step forward.”
As those words left his lips, he took that fateful step forward, and Palola felt her heart explode within her chest, collapsing to the ground as crimson poured from the wound on both ends. Her heart had ruptured, a violent explosion that burst from inside tearing through her skin.
In short… she died.
The cloaked figure shifted his gaze to the left, his eyes narrowing at Akuma’s still form, bathed in a radiant golden light that lifted him slightly off the ground. Above him hovered a small child, adorned with brilliant wings that mirrored Akuma’s past self, clutching a white book and softly whispering into Akuma’s unresponsive ears. Of course, he couldn’t see it.